Pain and Chronic Conditions

Acupuncture is a 2000 year old time-tested, safe and natural, drug-free and extremely effective treatment for all types of pain. It has few minor side effects and can improve your quality of life and complement other medical therapies and treatment.

HOW CAN ACUPUNCTURE HELP?

  • Reduce Prescription Painkillers

  • Improve Mobility

  • Recover from Injury

  • Recover from Surgery

  • Reduce Pain and Inflammation

Acupuncture can improve your quality of life and complement other medical therapies and treatment.

  • Regular acupuncture treatments can reduce pain over time by improving blood flow and reducing inflammation.

  • Acupuncture stimulates the release of our body's natural pain killers (endorphins),

  • Acupuncture can loosen tense or restricted muscles to allow for better circulation and healing.

  •  Regular treatments can move stagnant blood and acid build up, open and release scar tissue and adhesions, minimize inflammation and reduce numbness and tingling. 

Needles are inserted into specific locations based on a combination of the following:

  • According to TCM diagnosis & meridian theory

    • These include adjacent and distal points, away from the injured area to address the underlying cause and release referred pain.

  • Directly into the painful area (Ashi or trigger points)

    • This helps reduce pain by relaxing the tense muscles involved in the pain/injury, bringing it back to its normal state. These points will often generate a strong twitch or muscle release when stimulated with the needle.
      Note: Physiotherapy dry-needling or IMS (intramuscular stimulation) is a derivative of this technique. Its administration is typically more aggressive and does not include traditional meridian theory points.

ACUPUNCTURE CAN TREAT:

  • Back Pain - Sciatica, SI Joint Pain

  • Neck / Shoulder Pain - Impingement, Frozen Shoulder, Tension, Whiplash

  • Upper Extremities - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tennis Elbow, Golfer’s Elbow, Arthritis, Tendonitis

  • Lower Extremities - IT Band Friction Syndrome, Piriformis Syndrome, Plantar Fasciitis, Arthritis

  • Pelvic Pain - Painful periods, Endometriosis

  • Injuries - Acute Sprain / Strain, Motor Vehicle, Sports

  • Headaches / Migraines

TREATMENT

Typically 4-8 treatments are required to address chronic or acute pain, with Electroacupuncture and cupping to support the healing process. Ongoing treatments are often necessary and after an initial course of weekly or 2/weekly treatments, monthly or biweekly maintenance treatments are an excellent option for long-term pain management. 

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT ACUPUNCTURE WORKS FOR PAIN

Acupuncture for Chronic Pain Journal of the American Medical Association. 2014 Mar 5 955-956 “Acupuncture is associated with improved pain outcomes compared with sham-acupuncture and no-acupuncture control, with response rates of approximately 30% for no acupuncture, 42.5% for sham acupuncture, and 50% for acupuncture.”

Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Individual Patient data meta-analysis Journal of Pain, 2017 Nov 30 “Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal, headache, and osteoarthritis pain. Treatment effects of acupuncture persist over time and cannot be explained solely in terms of placebo effects. Referral for a course of acupuncture treatment is a reasonable option for a patient with chronic pain.”

Acupuncture for Chronic Pain-Related Depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis Journal of Pain and Research Management: Volume 2021 “The results of our current systematic review and meta-analysis show that compared with drug treatment, single acupuncture treatment has the same effect in reducing pain and relieving symptoms of depression in patients with CPRD, but the incidence of adverse reactions of acupuncture treatment is smaller. In addition, acupuncture combined with drug therapy has a better effect than a single drug.”

Acupuncture for Pain American Family Physician. Am Fam Physician. 2019 Jul 15;100(2):89-96 “In well-conducted systematic reviews, acupuncture has been shown to provide clinically and statistically significant improvement in patients with certain pain syndromes.”